Shannon News TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1929.

Shannon News, 23 April 1929, Page 2

Shannon News TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1929.

Mr J. W. Murray, of Waikanae, who was & resident of Shannon for many years, was a visitor to the town on Saturday.

On Wednesday evening those persons who qualified during the first of the series of euchre tourneys held by the committee of the Shannon branch of the N.Z. Labour Party, will play-off for the gold watch, the runner-up to receive a 701 b bag of sugar. Miss Ellis, of Otaki, who was at one time on the local school teaching staff, spent the week-end with Mrs C. H. Spoil's, Stout Street.

From enquiries made we learn that Mr Coley’s two children, who were injured by the overturning of his car, and removed to the Palmerston North Hospital, are noTv making satisfactory progress towards .recovery.

The may friends of Mr Fred Buckman and Mrs Freeman will he sorry to learn that they have had to enter the'Palmerstdn North_Hospital. the former suffering from hemorrhage and the latter from appendicitis/

Miss R. Wapp, who is at present one of fche Education Board’s relieving teacheis, has been appointed assistant mistress at the local -schqol. She succeeds Mrs Armstrongs who has been appointed to the Koputaroa School.

As a local, resident was passing the Club Hotel yesterday morning he observed smoke issuing from the balcony. On investigation he found that a mattress that had been put out on to the balcony to air, was on fire. A bucket of water soon quenched it. Evidently someone parsing by the window had thrown a lighted match out which fell on. the mattress.

Over 600 men* are now working on highways in No. 9 (West Wellington) highways district, more than' half being employed in the district north Of Waikanae.

A- salmon weighing 471 b., was caught in the Rakaia River recently by Mr T. Mallett, of Ellesmere. This is the heaviest fish that has been .taken from the rivers in the Ashburton County this season. ■ During the last few seasons occasional salmon weighing 401 b., and over have been caught.

Tlie practical value of shelter on a dairy farm was strongly emphasised by an expert witness in the Supreme Court at Auckland. "It means 20 per edit, additional pasture if you have adequate shelter,” he said. The witness was explaining a statement ho had made that a practical farmer would plant hedges all along the boundaries of his paddocks.

The case of a Taranaki farmer whose roadway was blocked for a week by a fallen tree was cited at the meeting of the Huirangi branch of the' Farmers’ Union as having been due to the restrictions placed on the purchase of explosives (states the Taranaki News). It was stated that the union was doing its best to have the restrictions removed, -since they often caused great inconvenience to farmers.

The appointment of Mr D. C. Bates, of the staff of the Meteorological Office, to /represent New Zealand at the forthcoming conference of Empire mpterologists, to be held in London in August, and at the international conference at Copenhagen in the following month, •was announced by the Hon. H. Atmore, Minister of Scientific Department, today, states a Press message from Wellington.

An ambition cherished - for ten years was realised this week by Rev. J. Puttullo, aged 80, of Auckland, when he made a flight from the Mangere aerodrome in the Blackburn-Blue-bird machine. The aeroplane flew over Otahuhu and Papatoetoe. ‘ ‘ One of the most cnoyable experiences in my life —I have been hoping to make a flight since I was 70,” said Mr Pattullo after alighting. The pilot, Mr lan Keith, remarked that he could recall few more appreciative passengers.

An unfortunate position arose in connection with the Taranaki Hospital Board election when it was discovered that Rev. R. B. Gosnell, the chairman of the board, was not on the electoral roll. While in Waitara, Mr Gosnell represented the district on the board, and when he moved to New Plymouth he continued to represent the country district. For the forthcoming election he was to have been nominated as a representative of the New Plymouth district, but it was found that he was not on the New Plymouth roll. ■ He was therefore ineligible to contest either, seat.

Prior to the 1928 shooting season pukekos could be seen in large numbers in the swamps at Koputaroa, but as the result of complaints that those .handsome- birds were becoming a nuisance, the mpnth cf May last year was declared an open season and these native birds quickly disappeared. With the exception of an occasional one, none were seen until quite recently when they re'appearedj in twos and threes. They were very tame and almost domesticated in earlier seasons, but are now very timid and fly off to shelter at the slightest sound or warning.